NHL Owners Plan to Lock Out Players Tomorrow

NHL Owners Plan to Lock Out Players Tomorrow Without New Deal

Barring a last-minute contract settlement, National Hockey League owners plan to authorize a lockout of players tomorrow after the current labor agreement expires.

The agreement between the league and its players union expires tonight at midnight. The 30 NHL teams are scheduled to open their training camps on Thursday, and the regular season is slated to begin on Oct. 13.

The league, which says it lost about $273 million during the 2002-03 season, wants a salary cap that would reduce player payrolls by about 24 percent to $31 million per team. The union opposes a salary cap.

NHL owners will meet tomorrow in New York to vote on the lockout if a new labor agreement isn't reached. It would be the league's first work stoppage since the 1994-95 season, which was shortened by a 103-day lockout.

The only other work stoppage in modern times was a 10-day players strike in 1992. Missed games were rescheduled after a new agreement was reached.

The NHL says the 87-year-old league can't survive under the existing economic structure. The players say owners aren't including all revenue in their calculations.

Last week, the NHL rejected a union proposal that included a revenue-sharing plan, a ``luxury tax'' on clubs with high payrolls and a one-time 5 percent reduction in salaries.

In July, the union turned down NHL proposals that would have given players more than 50 percent of league revenue and set an average player salary of $1.3 million.

Payroll made up 75 percent of the NHL's $1.96 billion in revenue last season, the highest percentage of the four major North American sports, according to a study commissioned by the NHL. The average player salary has tripled over the past 10 years, from $558,000 to $1.83 million.

The league, which says it lost about $273 million during the 2002-03 season, wants a salary cap that would reduce player payrolls by about 24 percent to $31 million per team. The union opposes a salary cap.

NHL owners will meet tomorrow in New York to vote on the lockout if a new labor agreement isn't reached. It would be the league's first work stoppage since the 1994-95 season, which was shortened by a 103-day lockout.

The only other work stoppage in modern times was a 10-day players strike in 1992. Missed games were rescheduled after a new agreement was reached.

The NHL says the 87-year-old league can't survive under the existing economic structure. The players say owners aren't including all revenue in their calculations.

Last week, the NHL rejected a union proposal that included a revenue-sharing plan, a ``luxury tax'' on clubs with high payrolls and a one-time 5 percent reduction in salaries.

In July, the union turned down NHL proposals that would have given players more than 50 percent of league revenue and set an average player salary of $1.3 million.

Payroll made up 75 percent of the NHL's $1.96 billion in revenue last season, the highest percentage of the four major North American sports, according to a study commissioned by the NHL. The average player salary has tripled over the past 10 years, from $558,000 to $1.83 million.

Posted by Ron at September 14, 2004 03:16 PM